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Watch actor/director Robert Townsend on WCCO-TV Channel 4 today at 12-noon for the noon report and on KSTP-TV Channel 5 on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 7:00 a.m. – then get ready to see the screening of In The Hive at Sabathani Community Center at 7 p.m. (6/27).
Fast Tube by Casper
by Donald W.R. Allen, II – Editor in Chief/The Independent Business News Network
“Actor/Director Robert Townsend is in Minneapolis!”
Minneapolis, MN (IBNN NEWS/Education and Entertainment/June 26, 2012)…Actor/Director Robert Townsend visits Minneapolis for an exclusive screening on one of the most important disparities facing Black males: Suspensions and expulsions in high school and how a school for Black youth has become a success in educating, graduating and motivating a segment of the population that is often overlooked.
Multifaceted actor/director and producer Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle, The Five Heartbeats, The Meteor Man, The Parent ‘Hood, Raw) will be in Minneapolis on June 26, 2012 through June 27th to promote his educational drama, “In The Hive.” The brainchild behind this screening is veteran Minneapolis school recruiter Wesley Smith.
Smith, who is responsible for getting over 200 dropouts back in school says, “We need this. It’s our time. Black youth have been on the bottom searching for a way out. The movie, In The Hive shows what can happen when one person has a vision and acts on it despite the odds. I look forward to a very meaningful community engagement with this event.” Smith will launch “Drop Outs to Drop Ins Project” this fall – it’s expected to be nationwide with components that not only gets kids in school – but also trains the trainers to understand the needs of kids who aren’t in school.
Robert Townsend’s arrival in Minneapolis sends a message to local educators: the challenges Minneapolis faces with Black males and education is on the national radar.
Townsend’s visit is also different from other Black celebrities that come into the Twin Cities and never go to into the Black community. Townsend will attend a number of events in north Minneapolis at Turning Point, Inc for a press conference on Wednesday, June 27th at 10:00 a.m. – and an appearance at Pillsbury United Communities WE CARE Theater Arts Festival at Farview Park in north Minneapolis later that day.
In the Hive is a feature film based on an actual school, called the Hive. The film is set in a disadvantaged community and follows a group of at risk teenagers who have been expelled from their public school system. The school, which becomes a life changing environment, is run by a strong matriarch figure whose compassion and no-nonsense manner helps these young men from troubled, often violent backgrounds, greatly improve their educational outcomes, self-esteem and future. (See the Hive School here.)
Townsend, whose movie credits date back two decades, has won national praise for making a movie that mixes humor with a serious message. But in an interview in the Washington Post, Townsend said the central message to young people is that they are loved. “The film lets us know that we can’t turn our back on any of these kids,” Townsend said. “A lot of kids are dropping out of school. A lot of kids are at risk. This movie is a message of hope to kids, to teachers, to parents to say that we cant give up on our kids and it is going to take all of us together to make a difference.” A press conference will be held on June 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at Turing Point, Inc. – located at 1500 Golden Valley Road, Minneapolis, MN 55411.
The screening with Q & A will be held at Sabathani Community Center, located at 310 East 38th Street in Minneapolis on June 27, 2012 at 7 p.m. – Tickets are $10.
Sponsors for this event: Turning Point, Inc., We Care Performing Arts, Drop Out to Drop Ins Project, Sabathani Community Center, Pillsbury United Communities, YDE Consultants with media sponsors, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, The Independent Business News Network and the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and Black Music America (BMA).
For more information, call 612-986-0010.
